Texican soup

If there's one thing that truely surprised me when I moved to the Chicago burbs was the Hispanic demographics. I'm from Cleveland. We have Italians and Irish, which are arguably much paler and much more angry than the pleasant little Mexicans that live here. Inarguably one of the biggest advantage of living amongst this subpopulation is that the grocery stores are chuck full of really unique produce (most of which I can't pronounce, but ALL of which I'm excited to try) that's at a really reasonable price. Although I rotate grocers depending on where I'm coming from, whenever I stop at a Hispanic grocer, I've been buying a "never-heard-of" item. Two weeks ago, it was nopales. This past week, it was chayote squash. Both I highly recommend if you get the chance to purchase them. Let me introduce you to the humble chayote:

Season: late spring

Taste: cross between and potato/cucumber/ and water chestnut

Nutritional Info: 

Texican Soup: 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 chayote squash
• 2 large roma tomatoes
• 1 T chopped garlic or 1 clove
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds discarded
• 2 large carrots (I steam mine for easier digestion)
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 1 chick-un boullion cube
• 3 C hot water (i used the water from steaming the carrots)
• 1/2 T cumin
• 1/2 T red pepper flakes
• 1 t smoked paprika
• 4 sliced mushrooms
• optional: 
• handful of spinach
• corn
• avocado
• daiya pepperjack
• vegan sour cream
• black beans
• tortilla strips

Steps: 

1. chuck everything into vitamix except mushrooms, spinach, and/or "optionals"

2. blend until smooth (or chunky, whatever you like)

3. add mushrooms, pulse

4. add spinach, pulse (** I highly recommend doing this; I DIDN'T and it really messed with the whole "soup-vibe", but i really liked the added flavor)

5. pour into a big bowl

6. top with "optionals" if desired (you can see from the picture that I did not and it was amazing anyways, so they're not necessary to have a complete-tasting meal, just adds some extra texture)

Carrot Curry & Corepower

If you haven't heard about Corepower Yoga, you've been really deprived. It is a company that specializes in heated vinyasa and spinning yoga. Obviously two things right up my alley, so it's no wonder that i'm hooked. SO hooked, that i got a job at my nearby studio cleaning in exchange for a membership; i've never felt so satisfied cleaning up after other people (strangers at that) in my life! 

If you're wondering why a "carrot curry" post would involve my new job, let me enlighten you. There's not much about sweaty yoga studios that induce hunger for me, unless i'm leaving a class and i didn't fuel up before. But at about a quarter-till the end of my shift, when the yoga instructor walked in and lit some incense... I couldn't get curry off my mind. 

I don't know what it is about Nag Champa, but it always makes me crave curry. Not any particular curry- it could be indian, thai, or ethiopian... my tastebuds don't care. They just revel in the warth and complexity of the unique spice blends. So after 15 of wafting in the nag-champa-induced curry coma, i ran my little sweaty butt back to my place to whip up some red curry. The only problem was that i was just really not feeling the coconut milk part of the recipe i usually make.  so i decided to use carrots for their rich, velvety, sweetness as the base and it turned out FABULOUSLY. I just had to share... so here you are. 

Ingredients:

• 5 large carrots
• 1/3 eggplant, cubed (tiny)
• 2 cups baby kale (or spinach, whatever green you wanna put in...or not. This is totally about what you want in your curry.
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 sprays bragg's liquid aminos
• 1 cube vegan vegetable boullion
• 2 T Thai red curry paste (here's a link to homemade recipe if you can't find the pre-made stuff: http://thewanderlustkitchen.com/easy-homemade-red-curry-paste/)
• +/- pinch of turmeric and black pepper

Steps: 

1. peel and steam carrots in about 4 cups water for about 10 min. 

   

*tip: i put the boullion cube in the water here to kill two birds with one stone (not a very vegan saying, but you get the gist...), but you can always make a second cup of broth apart from the carrots if you really want to do more work. *

2. saute eggplant and garlic

3. put raw kale in bottom of bowl, layer the eggplant mixture on top of that

4. transfer steamed carrots, 1 cup of the broth, and the curry paste into your Vitamix (or other blender) and blend it until it's a thick sauce consistency. 

5. pour over bowl. Add turmeric and pepper for anti-inflammatory purposes if desired. 

This is what mine looked like (half-devoured); beautiful orange hue, no?

Why Carrots are Cool: 

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, one medium carrot or ½ cup of chopped carrots is considered a serving size. One serving size of carrots provides 25 calories, 6 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams of sugars and 1 gram of protein.

Carrots are rich in vitamin A.

Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, providing 210% of the average adult's needs for the day. They also provide 6% of vitamin C needs, 2% ofcalcium needs and 2% of iron needs per serving.

It is the antioxidant beta-carotene that gives carrots their bright orange color. Beta-carotene is absorbed in the intestine and converted into vitamin A during digestion.

Carrots also contain fiber, vitamin K, potassium, folate, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, vitamin E and zinc.

Farmer's markets and some specialty stores carry carrots in a range of colors - like purple, yellow, and red - that contain a variety of antioxidants lending them their color (such as anthocyanin in purple carrots and lycopene in red carrots).

A little tid bit on turmeric and black pepper: 

Black pepper enhances bioavailability of Turmeric: One important question which must be popping in your mind right now would be why among so many spices are we talking about black pepper? The answer is really interesting too. One problem with curcumin is its low levels of bioavailability. Most of the curcumin that is ingested gets metabolized before it can get absorbed. Piperine is said to help make curcumin more bioavailable. This could be because it could inhibit certain intestinal digestive enzymes. This increases the amount of any drug or supplement that can be absorbed by the body. They also do not get degraded quickly. Hence, there are studies to test if co-administering curcumin with piperine could improve the bioavailability of the former. These studies have been conducted on humans and laboratory animals. One study found that when even 2g of curcumin was ingested, its serum levels were very low. However, when 20mg piperine was added to curcumin the bioavailability increased by 2000%. The bioavailability, serum levels and levels of absorption of curcumin all improved dramatically.  Thus, if one tales turmeric, most of it is unutilized unless supplemented by addons such as black pepper.

Ok i'm going to try this again. although i'm going to apologize prematurely- the pics for these first two meals won't be there, so you'll have to use ur imagination. Reason 1- because I left my phone in my car and it's hella cold and i'm lazy. Reason 2- because i was really hungry and once i dig in, i can't stop until satiated. I promise that more will come with subsequent posts.

I'll also let you all know that I have gone cooked vegan, although i'll retain this blog name; like i said, i'm lazy (and busy) and I like the ring to it.

If you're wondering why I've been MIA for almost 2 years, let me fill you in on what's been happening. I was accepted shortly after my last post to a Naturopathic Medical school outside of Chicago, IL. I moved and have been here studying my butt off and not really getting culinarily creative unless I have a get-together with my classmates, where i've had the opportunity to try and showcase different vegan dishes, exemplifying how they stand up to traditional SAD dishes. Perhaps down the road, i'll share pics of these parties, but for now, i'll focus on my most recent yummies.

The move has also brought some failures along with triumphs, both in the culinary and personal fronts. I've burnt just about as many relationships as i have dinners, but i've also savored more in luck and love than the taste of the finest food in the world. I've slaved over books, projects, exams, and work MUCH more than I have over the stove or Vitamix, and I have to admit in retrospect, it's been so incredibly worth it. I've now settled into a good relationship (ironically with my boyfriend I had when I started this blog), have a stable (not to mention amazing) group of friends here in what is now not such a "foreign" city. And it is now, in this comfortable state, that I have returned to my passion. Health, cooking, and writing. Oh, and eating. Lots and lots of eating.

That being said, here's some recent nom nom i've been shoving into my face.

1. Roasted Red Pepper & Roasted Tomato Soup
This is one of those recipes that make me wish my Vitamix was wide enough to fit my entire face into it so I could savor every last drop. I've got issues. but trust me, you'll get it after you try this. 

Ingredients:

• 5 Red bell peppers
• 5 tomatoes
• cayenne pepper
• smoked/sweet paprika*
• cumin
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 T nutritional yeast
• 1 pinch of Himalayan salt
• Celery Salt** 
• 1/4 brick tofu (i used silken, but it doesn't really matter)
• 1/4 avocado, diced finely (optional)

*did you know? paprika is essentially the red bell pepper version of celery salt (see below)

**Celery salt is essentially dehydrated diced celery that is FP (food processed) into a powder.

Steps:

• dice tomatoes into small cubes
• line a baking sheet with parchment paper, bake at 400*F for 15 min
• halve and de-seed peppers
• if using a gas stove (like I did), turn two burners on
• using tongs, place halved peppers directly onto burners/flame (i prefer outside down) and char
• flip them and char the insides or until soft. 
• place them in a Ziploc (careful, they'll be hot) and seal. let them steam for ~10 min
• remove tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper, let cool
• remove peppers from bag and peel off charred skin (it'll be really easy once they've steamed in the bag, but it'll be messy, so wear gloves)
• toss 1/2 of the tomatoes, peppers, tofu, garlic, spices into Vitamix (or blender of choice) and blend until creamy
• place the other 1/2 of the tomatoes in bowl of choosing. Pour blended pepper mixture over it. season more if needed, and add diced avocado if desired. 

Overall this took me like 25 minutes tops and gave me about 45mL of soup. I had planned on saving some for lunch. Whoops. 

2. 'Creamy' Asparagus Soup
I use this as a base for many other recipes including dips, sauces, and my Fat Free (Fat Free) Pesto. 
Recipes will follow. 

Ingredients:

   Base:

• 1 bunch green asparagus
• 2 bunches white asparagus
• 1/3 block tofu or 1 cup chopped and steamed cauliflower/rutabaga
• celery salt
• 1 vegan boullion cube
• 1/2 T black pepper
• 1 clove garlic

   Soup:

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 tsp sage
• sprinkle of paprika for color

   Dip:

• 1/4 C nutritional yeast
• seasonings to taste

   Pesto: 

• 3 bunches of basil (fresh only, sorry but dried won't work here)
• 1/8 C nutritional yeast
• 1 more clove of garlic (this one I like to peel, wrap in foil, and bake until soft)

Steps: 

• steam asparagus and cauliflower/rutabaga if using instead of tofu
• drain and reserve liquid
• add everything to Vitamix plus 1-2 cups of reserved steaming water
• blend and season
• dunk, drizzle, or just straight up devour!